"This is an embarrassing time for Gulf countries," says political scientist Bessma Momani. "Ultimately, they gave Israel a normalization deal, but didn't really extract anything for the Palestinians."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel's United Arab Emirates peace deal sets a precedent: Israel need not cede captured land to the Palestinians in order to win friends in the Arab world.
The community maintains a low profile, given sensitivities in the region. Since the Israel-United Arab Emirates peace deal was announced, it has scrambled to accommodate a rush of Jewish visitors.
The ministry's 29-page advisory is geared to tourism professionals and business travelers now that travel is open between the two countries, but it has been criticized in both Israel and the Gulf.
Weeks ago it would have been unimaginable to see Israeli officials fly to the United Arab Emirates and walk out onto a red carpet. That wasn't the only unusual part of the visit.
Jared Kushner joined U.S. and Israeli officials Monday on the first official Israeli flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi to advance the Aug. 13 deal to establish diplomatic ties.
The ruler of the United Arab Emirates issued a decree Saturday ending a 1972 law that established the boycott. The move follows a U.S.-brokered deal to forge diplomatic ties between the two nations.
If the deal holds, the United Arab Emirates will be the first Gulf state to normalize relations with Israel, but there are many potential bumps in the road, writes Aaron David Miller.
President Trump brokers the historic agreement. The United Arab Emirates and Israel will move toward bilateral diplomatic relations, and Israel will suspend plans to annex portions of the West Bank.
The United Arab Emirates successfully launched a Mars orbital probe known as Hope, or "Amal" in Arabic. It is expected to reach the red planet in February and will study the thin atmosphere of Mars.
